Anywhere But Here
by slaygal166
Summary: Buffy runs into Harry at Magnolia Crescent while helping to organize the new watchers council and slayers. This takes place the summer after Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. BtvsHp crossover. NEW BETTER THAN EVER CHAPTER!
1. Magnolia Crescent

**Title: **Anywhere but Here

**Summary: **Buffy runs into Harry at Magnolia Crescent. He learns about the slayers. I originally had more summary but I realized that it was all LIES! i have no idea what's to come. Or do I? Dun dun dun...well you'll just have to read to see what happens. (And the story gets increasingly better with each chapter, I swear!)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything associated with Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they are all possessions of J.K. Rowling and Joss Whedon.

**Relationships:** Most of the characters will have very undefined and changing relationships. (EDIT: Except that I know who they will all end up with! That is, if I ever get far enough in this story for full relationship and character development...but it will definitely be amusing along the way.) Almost everyone deals with his or her love life, even Dudley!

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Magnolia Crescent 

The moonlight illuminated the manicured lawns and storybook perfect houses that lined Magnolia Crescent. The soft whistle of the wind broke the serene silence and the footsteps of a young woman could be heard, though the click-clack of her heels was so quiet it was is if she didn't want to disrupt the calmness of the atmosphere. She stopped and sat on a stone bench along the walkway, while swiping her long blonde hair out of her face. She absent-mindedly twirled a stake in her fingers as she thought _Wow, I've been in the 'land of the tweed' for a month now and there have only been two vampires! I'm so bored, clearly I've been living on the hellmouth too long…_

The woman suddenly stood up abruptly as she heard a rustling in the bushes somewhere behind her. She felt a tingling on the back of her neck alerting her to the fact that she wasn't alone. She walked slowly around the bench and over some bushes in a fighting stance that would give any demon second thoughts before attacking her.

"Come on out, evil thing, I don't bite, that's your job…" She said, still searching for the source of the noise. _Come on! _she thought, _I could do with a bit of action…_she smiled, thinking of how Faith, her fellow original slayer, would have interpreted that. She looked around not seeing anyone and was about to assume it was a squirrel or some other little animal when she stepped around a tree. Then she saw it, seated on the ground with his legs stretched out and his back propped up against the tree trunk was a teenage boy, fast asleep.

She almost laughed out loud at the normality of the situation; the kid probably just had a fight with his parents and ran away. _Well, at least he's alive_ she thought, after noticing the rise and fall of his chest. He was kind of cute in a teenager-y way, she decided. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes and the state of his hair, he was probably really stressed out. The peculiar shaped scar on his forehead gave her an uneasy feeling, she didn't want to know how he had gotten it at the moment.

She was about to go over and wake the kid up as his parents were probably worried sick, she would be too if Dawn was still out at one in the morning, when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. On the damp grass sat an open brown leather photo album, but the pictures were moving. It was hard to make out much detail from the light of the moon and stars but it looked like a couple on their wedding day and a very happy man. She noticed a flashlight and big dorky glasses on the ground beside it and realized that obviously the boy had been looking at the magical book when he fell asleep.

She was about to pick up the book to observe the mysterious moving photos more clearly when she heard a whimper from the boy. He was obviously having a nightmare, judging by the thrashing of his head and his muttering. When a look of terror struck his face, she bent down and gently shook him by the shoulders. When that didn't work, she squatted in front of him and tried shaking him a bit harder, still to no affect.

"Come on kid, rise and shine!" She said desperately. Sighing in frustration, she thought _I wish I at least knew this guy's name!_ Then she noticed the photo album and thought that maybe the teen's name was in the cover. She pulled it over to her carefully and glanced back at the photo, running her thumb over the handsome laughing man's face, wondering how it was that he was grinning at her. When the groom kissed the bride, she turned to the front of the book before she could let her thoughts once again turn to her love life, or lack there of. Her fling in Rome with the immortal had been fun, but they just didn't click. _Anyway, _she thought forcefully, _this kid is what matters right now._ She noticed the name in the book, Harry.

"Harry!" She said loudly, while shaking the boy once again. His face now looked somewhere between terrified and full of grief, a look she recognized all too well. After shouting his name a couple more times and gently lifting up his head and shaking him by the shoulders, he opened a bleary eye.

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Well, that was the edited version of my first chapter. I decided that instead of re-posting the whole story and confusing everyone (including myself), I decided just repost the edits along with each chapter. Future chapters will be longer. Hope you enjoy the story. Please Review!

Muchas Amor, Slaygal166


	2. Do you believe in magic?

**Authors Note**: Thanks for the reviews! See the end of the chapter for my responses. (EDIT: Actually don't, I deleted them because I had know idea what I was talking about in them when I responded two years ago! Sorry!)

For some reason unknown to me, the events in this chapter read better out of time order. Which is ok, because they take place in entirely different places, but the first part is supposed to be around 4:30ish the afternoon before the events of the first chapter. The second part of this chapter continues right after the end of the last chapter, approximately 1 in the morning-ish after the first part of the chapter. Hope this authors note clarifies everything rather than confuses you all!

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Hermione collapsed next to Ron, both thoroughly exhausted. They had been cleaning up the dining room in the Order of the Phoenix all day for the big party that would occur in two days time for the initiation of new members to the Order. Fred and George were now old enough to join, as were a handful of other recent Hogwarts graduates. Fleur Delacour, Fillius Flitwick, a young Australian witch named Maddie Fisher, and a middle aged muggle-born wizard with black hair and a fully gray mustache named Maurice Knuckleworth would also be joining. Three or four other witches and wizards whom the two teens hadn't yet met were also joining. Normally, when a new member was initiated it wasn't such a big deal, but since so many people were joining at once, the members of the Order decided to make a party out of it. It also gave them an excuse to get Harry away from the Dursleys a bit sooner than planned. 

So, after all the tedious cleaning, Hermione and Ron snuck upstairs and collapsed on Ron's bed, laughing at how thankful they were to finally be done working for the day. Ginny had slept in a few hours that morning, claiming she was sick so she wouldn't have to work, but when Mrs. Weasley found out, she made Ginny scrub all of the plates and goblets (there were several hundred) and she still wasn't done, while Ron and Hermione were upstairs relaxing. They had to laugh at their luck.

"Ha, I can't believe Gin tried to pull that on Mum, she should now by now that Mum never falls for it for that routine for too long…"

"Yes, nothing gets past your mother…" Hermione responded tiredly, her eyes fluttering closed as she snuggled up on the bed.

"Yea, but you must admit, that was a great try, especially when she was trying to pin it on Fred and George for corrupting her; that was bloody hilari…Hermione?" Ron asked, noticing she hadn't chastised him for cursing. He looked over at her lying on the bed beside him on top of his arm and noticed she was fast asleep.

"Geez, I didn't know I was that boring…" he muttered while smiling at the sleeping form beside him. He yawned loudly and tried to get up to go to Harry's bed to take a nap himself, when he realized his arm was stuck. He gently tried to shove Hermione off without waking her up but she just rolled over and clung tightly to him. Ron yawned again before giving up and falling asleep right in Hermione's grasp.

* * *

Harry awoke suddenly to the sound of his name being called. _Mom? _He thought. _Is that you? Did you come out from behind the veil?_ For he had been having a terrifying dream that was a twisted combination of Sirius' murder, the figures coming out of Voldemort's wand, and his parents' death. Then, as he began to wake up, he realized that there was no way that was true. He was in his room at the Dursleys' and his mom was still dead. As he fully opened his eyes he realized that only one of the two was correct, he was actually lying on the ground outside with some sort of creature staring down at him. Harry looked around in extreme confusion, freaking out. Then he realized that half the problem was that everything was so blurry, so he pressed his back harder against the tree he realized he was leaning on and away from the creature crouched over him and searched frantically for his glasses on the ground beside him. He could not find them and kept staring at the creature before him in confusion, realizing she was actually a young woman. She smiled and handed him his glasses. 

"Looking for these?" she asked in a calm voice. Harry slipped on his glasses as the words instantly calmed his nerves. He looked at her again and realized she was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, including veela. Blushing, he asked:

"Er, where am I? And who are you?"

"One, Magnolia Crescent, two, I'm Buffy. You must've fallen asleep here reading that funky photo album over there," she said with a smile, knowing he would be worried about her finding out about magic.

"It's ok," She said quickly, as the pieces formed together in Harry's mind. He had been looking through the photo album Hagrid had given him and must've drifted off…"I know about magic." She added, in a hopefully reassuring way.

"But, wait, you're a muggle! Or…oh no…a deatheater!" Harry said, grabbing his wand and pointing it at her face, suddenly very freaked out. Buffy backed up looking puzzled and a little freaked out herself.

"Ok, woah there, don't you go pointing that stick at me! And what is with the weird British insults, kid? Ugh, and Giles said Americans had no manners…" She said trailing off and looking warily at the stick the boy was clutching, deciding if she should knock it out of his hand or not.

"Wait, you're American?" Harry asked, lowering his wand slightly.

"Yes, Mr. State-the-obvious," She said, still angry about being threatened with a stick. Noticing her brisk tone, she said more calmly, "Look, how about you go home because your parents are probably worried about you, and then in the morning we can discuss this nifty magic book, kay?" She suggested gently, offering him a hand to help him up.

"Er—" said Harry, still unsure if he could trust her or not. One look at her kind and tired beautiful young face told him all he needed to know. He allowed her to help him stand up and gather his things. "I'm Harry, by the way." He concluded, somewhat awkwardly after pocketing his wand.

"I know, I saw it in the cover of that photo album. I have to ask, what's the deal with the stick you've got there?" She asked, curiously.

"Well, I'm not really supposed to tell, but I guess since you already know about magic…" Eyeing her agitated and impatient look he continued. "Well, I'm a wizard, and this is my wand." He said, realizing how stupid the words sounded as he said them.

"Hmm," Buffy said, pondering. "So you have like, pointed hats and ride brooms and stuff?" She said giggling, assuming the stereotype was untrue.

"Well, actually" Harry responded, feeling his cheeks burn once again, "well, yeah…" He smiled weakly.

"Huh, awesome, so what do you…"she trailed off realizing how late it was, though still burning with curiosity. "Why don't we meet up again tomorrow and share our types of magic. Same place, but noon-ish, sound good?" She asked.

"Yea, ok. But I'd better get home, my aunt and uncle will kill me when I get there" He said, checking his wristwatch.

"Alright, maybe I should walk you, you never know what's out at night…" she said, looking around suspiciously as if a group of vampires were standing around about to attack.

"No, I can take care of myself, you know!" He said, getting irritated at always being treated like a child. Seeing her face fall, he added softly, "I only live a few blocks away, thanks though. I'll see you here tomorrow!" He said before walking home.

_Huh, I guess something interesting will finally happen._ She thought, before heading home to report to Giles, humming the song "Do you believe in Magic" softly and tossing and twirling her stake from hand to hand.

* * *

**Author's Note**-- One month till Harry Potter! Woo-hoo! Schools out so I should finally be able to get a few more chapters up this week and next before I go away for the summer. [EDIT: Tee hee! Current me knows what happens in book 6, AND 7, but past me doesnt. HA HA. 

Please review! I love you!


	3. Mudblood

Yay! Chapter three! Please leave Reviews

EDIT: I didn't have to make any pesky changes to this author's note! Yay!!

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Buffy slipped her key into the lock of the huge headquarters of the new and improved watcher's council, inevitably headed by Giles. She unlocked the door and waved to the security camera watching her as she stepped into the large entrance hall. She took off her leather jacket and hung it on the half full wooden coat rack near the door. She instinctively checked her appearance in the decorative mirror she'd insisted that they install on the back of the closet which held emergency weapons accessible in a hurry. She walked into the main living/staff room to see Giles reading a book about demons in the corner and pretending to ignore a bickering Xander and Willow. She smiled at the scene before her, feeling almost as at home here as she had in Sunnydale. Willow was the first to notice Buffy come in and broke off from her increasingly heated debate with Xander to say hello. 

Xander turned and said, "Hey Buffster, didn't hear you come in. Now will you _please_ explain to Willow here that it would be much cooler to be Sweet than to be Dracula?" Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Xan, give it up, you've been arguing about that for three days! And you, Willow! I thought you had better things to do than that! Such as your girlfriend?" Buffy said, smirking. Willow blushed and chucked a magazine that she had been reading before the argument started at Buffy's head. Giles made a clucking noise with his tongue to show his anger that the people who had stopped the first evil and changed the destiny of millions were acting so childish. The sound caused Buffy and Willow to burst out laughing at the memory of high school, and Xander to look back and forth between the two of them very confused.

Giles cleared his throat and asked (once Buffy and Willow had sobered up a bit), "So, Buffy, how was your patrol?" Buffy walked across the soft crème-colored carpet and sunk into a big comfy armchair near the one Giles was seated in and next to where Xander and Willow were seated at the coffee table on the floor. She kicked off her boots as she answered.

"Actually, it was pretty interesting…"

"Ooh! Were there lots of ookie demons?" Willow said, cutting Buffy off.

"Or ones that make everyone burst into song?" Xander piped in, causing all the others in the room to shoot him a very nasty glare.

"If you'd let me finish," continued Buffy, half angry and half laughing, "I'd tell you that actually, I met a boy..."

"Wow, Buffy, how many dead guys have you been with now, this is starting to be a very bad pattern…" Said Xander.

"Xander, please don't make me slap you." Buffy replied, getting annoyed.

"Yes, oh beautiful one" Xander hurriedly responded with fake fear in his voice.

Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes before telling them all she knew of the strange boy named Harry.

Ginny trudged upstairs after scrubbing all of the dishes in the kitchen of the Order of the Phoenix to tell her brother, Ron, and his friend, Hermione, that dinner had started and that they should come down stairs already. She wouldn't have come to tell them at all because she was so exhausted from her cleaning, but their absence from the dinner table left her as the only one for her mother to yell at. She pushed her now slightly dirty long red hair behind her ears and pushed open the door to Ron's room. She gasped in surprise and then laughed after seeing Ron and Hermione curled up in Ron's bed together. Her laugher woke up Hermione who sat up at once. Her sudden change in position woke up Ron too and both looked at each other groggy and confused before turning their attention to the now hysterical Ginny.

"I_knew_ you guys were sleeping together!" Ginny struggled to say through her uncontrollable laughter. Ron, realizing what must've happened only seconds after Hermione, blushed beet red while Hermione chucked a pillow at Ginny's head and called her a pervert. Unfortunately, Mrs. Weasley had heard Ginny's bellowed remark and came storming upstairs to rescue her "precious son" from "that scarlet woman", assumedly Hermione. All the while she was screaming a stream of insults that were even louder than the shrieking of Mrs. Black's portrait in the entrance hall, which had woken up from all the loud ruckus.

When Mrs. Weasley reached the room, Ginny immediately quieted down and realized she might have spoken a bit too loud when Mrs. Weasley screamed, "Hermione Granger get your filthy self away from my son! I let you in this house and fed you and trusted you and you go…go…seduce my littlest boy?" Hermione was at a loss of words at the absurdity of the situation. Meanwhile, some of the other order members, Remus Lupin, Kingsley Shaklebolt, and Emmeline Vance came up the stairs to see what the commotion was all about. Mrs. Weasley didn't notice them standing behind her in shock while she continued calling Hermione a whole range of things she would normally scold her children for saying. Lupin winced and motioned the others to go with him and wait downstairs until the family affair was over. Ginny sat giggling in a corner trying to stay unnoticed by her fuming mother while Ron and Hermione tried to protest to his mother's screaming. Mrs. Weasley wouldn't let them explain and accidentally called Hermione a mudblood.

The room went silent. Mrs. Weasley looked ashamed of herself before turning on her heel and storming out. Ginny stopped laughing at once and turned to look at Hermione who had started crying in Ron's arms. Ron looked like he was torn between comforting Hermione and yelling at his mother and looked at Ginny for help. She stroked Hermione's hair in a soothing manner, looked Ron dead-on in the eye, and said that she would take care of it. Ron just nodded and it hit him powerfully that his little baby sister was now as mature as he was, if not more so. He watched dumbfounded as she stormed out of the room after their mother as he continued comforting the sobbing Hermione.

* * *

Harry got home and unlocked the door, hoping not to wake up the Dursleys. Fortunately, they didn't hear him as he snuck inside and up to his room. He carefully placed his photo album in a box lined with an old soft T-shirt and slipped it under the floorboards of his bed. He kicked off his shoes, slipped into his pajamas, and lied down on his back with his hands behind his head. He closed his eyes and wondered why he had to be so thick as to not ask the beautiful American woman with the strange name about her kind of magic. _What other types were there?_ He wondered. _And_ _why aren't British girls so hot?_ Quickly, his thoughts went from magic to women. Then he realized _wait, I can't fancy her, she's at least five years older than I am, probably more, but at least she's probably experienced…_he thought, with a dirty smirk playing on his face. _Wow, I need to get myself a girlfriend._ Harry sighed as he once again wondered how his fat bully of a cousin, Dudley, had a girlfriend while he didn't. 

All summer, a skinny and tall girl named Blair with died auburn hair and a nose ring had been coming over and hanging all over Dudley. She wore clothes that left nothing to the imagination and revealed her pierced belly button. Her shorts and skirts were so short he had to avert his eyes, though a large part of him didn't want to. Dudley was infatuated by her, so naturally, Harry thought she was an insufferable brat, though he had to admire the way she had Dudley wrapped around her finger. Harry knew that the only reason a girl like that who could have any guy she wanted was with Dudley was because he did whatever she wanted. And he was painfully oblivious. Harry had seen her making out with other guys on his many walks around the neighborhood. Harry might almost feel bad for his cousin if Dudley hadn't only been going out with her to show off to his friends. The whole situation bothered Harry deeply.

He thought once again of the gorgeous blonde he had met that day and fell asleep to dreams of her floating before him, just out of reach. It was the first good night's sleep he had had since Sirius' murder nearly a month before.

* * *

**A/N: **The part where Buffy and Willow are laughing about Giles tongue clucking is from some high school episode where Willow talks about how when Giles gets mad he makes a clicking noise with his tongue and Giles is standing right behind her. Anyone remember what I'm talking about? EDIT: OMG! This same thing happened to me the other day; I said something really mean about a guest speaker in one of my classes, as a joke, and there he was! Oh man.

We'll see more of Harry tomorrow when he goes to meet Buffy.

Ask any other questions you have in a review! Or just make comments. Or send me some cybercookies!


	4. Chatting with Friends

Hi all! This chapter may be a bit confusing chronologically. The beginning part with Harry takes place the morning after he met Buffy while the Weasleys' section takes place around dinnertime the night before and the Buffy section takes place around two in the morning after that but before Harry's part. I put it in this order because I thought it was the most interesting. I hope it doesn't seem too much like 3 different stories, but if it does, that will change soon.

EDIT: It will definitely change, because the style is annoying me to pieces. I don't know why I wrote it this way, but now that it's there I like it so it's too late to change it. Future chapters (cough ch5) will make much more sense, I promise!

Btw, I own nothing, don't sue!

* * *

Harry was awoken at six in the morning by a small owl pecking loudly at his window. He groaned and opened it to let Ron's small owl, Pig, into his room to deliver the letter fastened to his leg. Harry sighed remembering that it was Sirius who had given Ron the owl in the first place. He had spent the entire summer sullen and quiet, constantly being reminded of Sirius. He opened the letter and read it through slowly. 

_Dear Harry,_

_Hope you're doing okay with the Dursleys, we'll probably be seeing you soon enough. I'm going crazy with all the cleaning here! Mum is driving us all insane. Speaking of Mum, Hermione and I fell asleep upstairs because we were so exhausted, and Ginny has to come in and scream it to the world. So mum gets the wrong idea, and, well, she said some things that were beyond awful to Hermione… So Ginny went downstairs to confront her and 'Mione is here crying her eyes out. It's so weird though, the things mum said, I've seen her get angry about this type of thing, like when Mum found out Charlie slept over at his girlfriends house, but this was crazy, she completely overreacted. And nothing happened! Anyway, I thought a letter from you might cheer up 'Mione so please write back as soon as possible!_

_Your desperate friend, Ron_

_P.S. Not that I wouldn't appreciate a letter from you too…_

He felt a pang of guilt after finishing. He had written to the other members of the Order of the Phoenix, just brief letters saying he was alive and the Dursleys weren't starving him, but he hadn't responded to any of Ron or Hermione's letters, which came quite often. It wasn't that he was angry with them, it was just that he had nothing to say, and he knew they wanted to know how he was handling Sirius' death. Harry decided that it was time he responded, especially if Hermione was so upset, he hated it when she cried. He took out a quill, ink, and a fresh piece of parchment.

_Dear Ron and Hermione,_

Harry paused, he had no idea how to write. Why was talking to his best friends so difficult? Then, suddenly, he remembered the girl he met in the park yesterday and began to write.

Ron told me what happened, 'Mione, I can't believe Mrs. Weasley overreacted like that. Don't mind her, she's probably just stressed about Fred and George and the joke shop or something. Don't let it get to you, I'm sure she didn't mean whatever she said. I'm also sure Ron has told you all this already but it can never hurt to hear it twice, right? I'd love to see Ginny have a go at your mum though, Ron.

_Last night I went to the park and I must have dosed off. I was woken up by this beautiful woman. It turns out she wasn't a muggle, or if she was, she knew someone who wasn't. I'm not too clear on the details, but she was surprised that witches and wizards use wands. I'm certain she's not trying to kill me, Hermione, I know what you're thinking, but she's American. She also had no idea who I was. I'm going to meet her again during the day today so we can chat about magic and the like. It's nice having someone here to talk to, not that I've been in the mood to do much talking lately. I'm sorry I haven't responded to any of your letters. I can't wait to see you guys._

_-Harry_

_P.S. Tell, everyone I say Hi._

Harry sealed up the letter and tied it to Hedwig's leg. He knew she would deliver the letter twice as fast as Pig would. He opened his window and let out both owls. They flew off into the sky, Hedwig immediately trying to get away from the twittering Pig by flying as fast as her wings would allow. Harry sunk back down on his bed thinking. It was now only 8:30 and he was too restless to stay in his room and sulk like he usually did. He went downstairs to have breakfast with the Dursleys for once and preoccupy his busy mind by taunting Dudley.

The night before… 

Ginny stormed down the stairs filled with rage and pushing away the guilt that she had started all the chaos in the first place. She had the oddest sense that more was going on than what was apparent; she was very intuitive, though nobody seemed to notice that about her. She pushed aside that feeling too and ran into the kitchen to scream at her mother. But when she got there, she was only half surprised to find her mother crying on a very bewildered Tonks' shoulder. The few other order members that were there all looked at each other uncomfortably and confused while Lupin tried to ask her what was the matter. He had noticed her being very quiet and stern all day.

Ginny's rage instantly left her and she ran over to her mother's side. She knew something more than what she had witnessed upstairs must have happened. She asked everyone for some privacy with a surprisingly authoritative voice and everyone obeyed save Lupin and Tonks. She sat on the floor next to her mother and Tonks and took her mom's hand in hers.

"Mum, what's going on?" She said seriously.

"It's…" Molly started, before a fresh wave of tears started.

"What, Mum? Is it Dad? Is it Charlie and the dragons? Or Bill?"

"N-N—No…" Mrs. Weasley tried again, attempting to pull herself together.

"It's Percy, Isn't it." Ginny said, instantly knowing it to be true by the way her mother dipped her head. Mrs. Weasley sniffed and sat up straight before continuing.

"P-Percy got ma…" She swallowed deeply before continuing. "married!" She whispered. Ginny looked shocked, she wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry. She instantly snapped out of it when seeing her mother about to start crying again.

"But, Mum," Ginny started carefully "I know it hurts that he didn't tell us, but why did you yell at Hermione like that?" Ginny gently asked, stroking her mothers hair and ignoring her own building anger at her brother.

"There's more," Molly started "his, er, you know, _wife_," she whispered the word "is pregnant!" she concluded, a hurt look in her eyes. "and he didn't even tell his own mother that she's going to be a-a a grandma!" She started crying again. Ginny hugged her mother and gently suggested that maybe when Percy finally told her, he might have been trying to make peace. This comforted Molly a bit and she was able to regain some of her normal composure. She apologized to Lupin and Tonks for making such a scene and they nodded and accepted. She wiped her eyes and held on to Ginny's hand tightly.

"I think that, maybe, you should apologize to Hermione?" Ginny said, hating to remind her mother of how much she had hurt her friend. Mrs. Weasley nodded and stood up, straightening her dress. She looked at Ginny pleadingly and Ginny reassured her that they could break the news the next day.

Buffy sat on her thick mattress with her back against the wall and pulled her knees into her chest. She missed Sunnydale so much. She missed everything about it, from the high school she attended to the one she worked at and Sunnydale university. She missed her old room and the cemeteries and the library and the magic box. She missed all the people she'd lost, whether by vampires, gunshots, or cancer. She even missed Mr. Gordo. Most of all, she missed her messed up Sunnydale life. Now that she was no longer there, she felt like her life was over, there was nothing left for her. And she had the feeling Faith felt the same way, which is why she couldn't wait until she came to England. Of course everyone would miss Sunnydale, even through all the hard times, but Buffy and Faith were also losing a huge, painful, and empowering part of their identities. They were no longer the chosen two, and she wasn't quite sure why she wasn't glad about that.

Ever since Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Dawn, and most of the slayers they had found had come to England to rebuild the Watchers' Council after their year in Rome, Buffy hadn't had a real chance to deal with the major changes in her life, it was all such a whirlwind. Finally, she realized she needed to talk to Faith, despite their extreme differences in the past. Buffy sighed and walked over to her computer. She turned it on and waited impatiently for the Internet to start up while sitting down in the big rolling chair. She opened up instant messenger and signed on. She was happy when she saw that Faith had just signed on as well.

CookieDough1: Hey Faith! 

_Dirtygrl2: Whoa B, I just signed on to talk to you!_

_CookieDough1: Same, must be a freaky slayer thing_

_Dirtygrl2: so what's goin on in headquarters?_

_CookieDough1: some interesting stuff, but I don't wanna talk about that now, _

_I'll tell u when I c u, which will b very soon?_

_Dirtygrl2: sooner than u think, I booked a flight for tomorrow morning!_

_CookieDough1: omg faith! That's great!_

_Dirtygrl2: so, how are ya dealing with the whole "no longer the only chosen 1" _

_ thing? er, u no wat I mean…_

_CookieDough1: that's exactly what I wanted to talk to u about, not great. I _

_figured u could relate?_

_Dirtygrl2: Yea, it's weird not being the only chosen ones anymore, I'm goin thru _

_this whole identity crisis thing. Being a slayer was my entire identity, _

_ya no?_

_CookieDough1: I no exactly what u mean, we need to get ourselves some _

_psychologists. I took a psych class and I still can't figure us out, lol._

_Dirtygrl2: Hehe, we'll chat more when I get there tomorrow, I'm gonna go _

_make the most of my remaining time with Robin ; ) _

_CookieDough1: Way too much info, F. Night! Stake some vamps for me, there _

_are none here! I'm so bored pouts, lol_

_Dirtygrl2: You've gotta find yourself a man, B. Night! Pick me up at the airport _

_around noonish, k?_

_CookieDough1: ooh, I can't, but I'll get one of the others to. Now I'm _

_leaving b4 u can continue to criticize my love life (or lack _

_thereof)_

Buffy signed off, both pissed and happy with Faith. It was nice to chat with her sister slayer, though she actually had a huge slayer family now. But she couldn't wait to see Faith tomorrow, after her meeting with Harry of course. It was comforting to know Faith was going through the same thing. She just wished Faith hadn't brought up her loveless life once again. It brought her to thoughts of Spike, and she didn't want to think about him. She sighed, got up, and walked next door to make sure Dawn was still sleeping. She had gone to sleep shortly before Buffy had gotten home from her patrol. She walked in, kissed her sister on the forehead, and walked out to go to sleep in her own room, remembering that Dawn probably had even worse identity problems than she did.

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A/N In case I forgot the mention it, or you somehow missed it, I am deleting all my responses to reviews because I sounded really stupid, I don't kow what the heck I was saying back then. I feel so much older and wiser now I guess (haha). I am still very grateful for the wonderful and constructive reviews I have gotten. Thanks a lot guys! 

**THANKS EVERYONE! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Fun and Fighting

Hi everyone!! I've had this chapter written for ages and I just decided to edit it and FINALLY post it. It is definitely the longest and, in my opinion, best written chapter yet. It also doesn't require a nonsensical explanation of what's to come. Also, please ignore anything I said back in 2005 when I posted the first four chapters. I seemed to think I had more of an idea for a plot than I did. However, I do have some lil ideas abrewin in my head, so we'll see if I find more time to update. Enjoy!!

P.S. Lets just pretend Harry and co are 16 going on 17. I figure they should be around the same age as Dawn and most of the slayers. This still takes place right after book 5 though.

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Dawn Summers woke up to her alarm clock with a jerk. She hastily fumbled around for the off switch, and not finding it, she just yanked the plug out of the wall sending the clock tumbling onto the floor. She groaned and rolled over, trying to fall back asleep. She had gotten very little sleep and spent half the night tossing and turning. Though she had pretended to be asleep when her sister had gone to check in on her after patrol, she was actually wide-awake and restless. For some reason, it felt wrong to not have a big bad to worry about and Dawn found it highly disconcerting. As she snuggled deeper into the covers, it occurred to her that there was no point; Buffy would surely come thundering in grouchily and blaming her for taking some hair appliance, or complaining about something. She sighed and braced herself for what would surely be a rude awakening as she heard Buffy call her name. _Older sisters suck, especially since mine isn't a morning person. _ She was deeply in denial about the fact that she wasn't much of a morning person either. 

To Dawn's surprise, Buffy came in to her room with a smile. Still in her pajamas, Buffy crawled into bed with her dumbstruck sister and hugged her.

"Morning Dawnie!" Buffy said cheerfully, but still with a trace of tiredness. Dawn looked at her, with her mouth hanging open.

"Uhhh, is this a sign of another apocalypse?" Buffy pretended to pout and replied,

"Hey, so I can't appreciate my amazing sister every once in a while?"

"What did I do?" Dawn said, too groggy to figure out what her sister was talking about.

"Nothing!" Buffy replied, with an uncharacteristically giggly voice. Dawn giggled too before asking if she had been drinking.

"Well, Xander did give me something a little funny to drink…NO you psycho! "It's like 9 o clock in the bloody morning!" she exclaimed, laughing and playfully punching her sister on the arm causing Dawn hit her in the head with a throw pillow.

"Haha! You just said bloody!" Dawn said, before beginning a furious fight involving pillows and lots of tickling, which Buffy won by a long shot until they both fell off the bed laughing hysterically.

Finally, both lying on the floor next too each other, Dawn turned her head and asked Buffy what was really going on. Buffy explained that she was in a good mood because Faith was coming and that she had met Harry the night before. She also explained how she missed sisterly moments like they had just shared. Dawn agreed whole-heartedly and insisted that she go along to meet Harry. Surprisingly, it didn't take much pleading for Buffy to give in. The two raced downstairs, Dawn winning by sliding down the stair rail, and the two joined the other Scoobies for breakfast wearing pajamas and identical grins. Sometimes it was nice to be a kid.

Harry was in his room pacing, it was 10:00 now, and he still had two hours until he went to meet Buffy, he didn't know what to do with himself. Uncle Vernon had gone to work, Aunt Petunia was cleaning the windows in the living room, and Dudley was out with his girlfriend. He decided to start his summer assignment, which he usually left off until much later in the summer. However, no sooner had he opened his textbook when his mind drifted off to Sirius. He hoped he was happy, wherever he was. He also hoped that Sirius forgave him for being so thick. He had been a bloody idiot. He still felt guilty for being so dumb and falling for Voldemort's trick. Sirius had to pay for Harry's stupidity with his life. Harry shook his head after a long time of this depressing thought process when he glanced up at his clock. It was 11:58. He only had two minutes to meet Buffy! He threw open the door to his room and chastised himself for brooding for so long. He didn't want to be late. He jumped down the last few stairs and snuck out of the house making sure to close the door quietly so Aunt Petunia wouldn't notice.

Harry ran down block after block until he reached Magnolia Crescent. He didn't see anybody there at first, but as he walked towards the tree he had fallen asleep under the night before, he saw Buffy. She was sitting on the ground wearing jeans and a lime green halter-top with big sunglasses on top of her head, barely holding back her cascading blonde hair. Seated across from her was a girl with long, dark brown hair who looked about his age. The two were playing some sort of hand game he had seen some people playing back in grade school. He noticed that the brunette had a very infectious laugh. He watched them play for a bit, before nervously walking over and politely saying hi. Buffy introduced the girl as her sister, Dawn. Harry thought Dawn didn't look that much like her sister, but she was just as pretty. He stood quietly as the two girls stood up and stretched.

"So, I dunno about you guys, but I'm starved. Can we go some place that serves food?" Dawn asked cheerily.

"Yeah, me too, lets go to the dining hall at headquarters, sound good?" Buffy asked Harry.

"Er, headquarters? Umm, that sounds fine I guess." He replied nervously and confusedly. _Headquarters of what?_

Dawn, noticing the puzzled look on his face said "Don't worry; we'll explain when we get there." The three started walking, all full of silent excitement and anxiousness.

Buffy and Dawn led Harry to the Slayer Headquarters; a building a few blocks away from the rest of the watcher's council and the Scooby Gang's residence. After opening the main door by having her handprint scanned, Buffy, Dawn and Harry walked into the large recreational area in front of them. Several teenage girls, most wearing, uniform yoga pants and exercise tops, were lounging around. Several said hi to Buffy and Dawn as they entered, and Harry was certain he heard some of them speculating about who he was. The three walked through the room into what looked like a big diner. There were 2 long buffet tables in the center and almost all the booths and tables in the room were full of teenage girls eating lunch. The three went to go get food before settling at a quiet table in the back of the room. As Harry nibbled on his grilled cheese sandwich, he decided to finally ask where he was and what was going on.

"So, this is the headquarters of what exactly?" Harry asked

"Have you ever heard of the vampire slayer?" Buffy asked in return.

"er, no. We won't be studying vampires until next term." he replied, confusedly

"Wait, what do you mean? Is there like, a school where you learn about magic and stuff?" Dawn exclaimed excitedly. Harry proceeded to tell the two all about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He kept talking, describing the common room, the evil potions master, and owl post, feeling more and more comfortable with the two, when he realized that he was being an idiot. He knew absolutely nothing about them, and yet was still trusting them with knowledge of the wizarding world. When he said this as politely as possible, Dawn jumped in and started to explain the origin of the slayer. Buffy took over her history lesson and briefed Harry on how Willow activated all the slayers, so it was no longer just one slayer in every generation. They were careful to skip over any personal details or information that might overwhelm him more than he already was; they told him all the basic details he would probably learn in school, and some funny anecdotes to make the story colorful. Harry found the whole thing unbelievable.

"Wait, but you're so tiny, wouldn't a vampire slayer have to be strong? I mean, come on, how do any of these girls have a chance against a vampire? Let alone a demon." Harry said. Buffy and Dawn both started laughing. As this happened, a scream came from a few tables over where one girl punched another. To his surprise, the injured girl went flying into a table across the room. She jumped up and angrily ran at the other girl putting her in a headlock. Harry quickly glanced around at Dawn and Buffy. Dawn looked worried but Buffy was smiling at him for some reason.

"Still don't think these girls are strong?" She asked, as the two girls began attacking each other. They did a whole range of flips and powerful kicks that looked very difficult. They were moving so fast it was almost a blur. Harry found them incredible. When one of the girls started bleeding though, it was a bit scary. That's when Buffy got up and ran over to separate the two girls. All of the girls who were now surrounding them in curiosity and excitement backed up a bit and looked a tiny bit scared of Buffy. Both girls glanced back at their friends in the circle silently asking for help. When the bleeding girl turned her head to look up at Buffy, Harry gasped in alarm as he recognized her.

"ENOUGH!" Buffy said loudly and strictly. "What the hell has gotten into you guys? Fighting is for the training room only!" She said, looking at both of the girls she was holding firmly by the shoulders. She told some of the older girls to clean up and keep order while she walked the two girls over to her office. She gestured with her head for Dawn and Harry to follow on the way out. By the time the two had reached the office, the girl he recognized who was bleeding had taken off her shirt to better examine the scrape on her side. The girl gave him a questioning look before nodding her head in indication of not revealing that they knew each other. Harry couldn't avert his eyes until all the other people in the room glared at him, misunderstanding his staring. He looked instead at Buffy, who was sitting on a couch. She gestured for him to join her, as Dawn already had. The fighting girls took seats across from them.

"Alright, Mona what the hell was that about?" Buffy asked the smaller girl with short black hair. She was the one who had thrown the first punch.

"She called me a slut!" the girl said angrily.

"It's true! You made out with three guys at that club the other night, including the one I told you was off limits!" Said the other girl, who Harry was shocked was there.

"Wait, she's a slut?" Dawn asked laughing. "Then what the hell are you?" Dawn asked her patronizingly, though she only looked a year or so older. Buffy glared at her sister with a look that clearly stated: "not helping." She then turned her attention back to the two slayers with a whole range of emotions on her face, disgust, disappointment, resignation, and something Harry thought looked like jealousy. Dawn seemed to notice it too, and took her sister's hand. However, the trace of jealousy disappeared quickly as Buffy pushed her away. Buffy told the two girls to get back to lunch and that if there were any more fighting incidents outside of the training rooms there would be consequences. She clearly was enjoying the authoritative role. Buffy sighed before turning back to Harry and smiling.

"So, do you believe in slayers now?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to see them beat up a demon!" he replied excitedly.

"Well, maybe another time. I wish I could hang out with you longer but I have a friend coming in today that I want to meet. We'd better see you around Harry!" She said, as Dawn nodded her approval and grinned.

"Er, do you mind if I talk to one of the slayers before I go? Just to…you know…see what it's like to live here?" Harry asked, unsure of why he didn't want to say that he knew one of the girls who had been fighting earlier. Buffy shrugged and walked him out, and Harry ran to find the girl he recognized, Dudley's girlfriend.

Blair was waiting for him around a corner. She looked very different then when he usually saw her at his aunt and uncle's house. She was wearing much more normal clothes, just jeans and a t-shirt and her attitude was entirely different. Harry thought she actually looked rather normal, nice even.

"Before you ask, Harry, yes, I am a Slayer. I'm not sure how you met Buffy and Dawn or how you know about all this, but there you have it." She said, uncomfortably, examining her died auburn strands.

"Why do you act so…different…around Dudley then?" He asked, getting a headache.

"I really do like your cousin." She said, dropping her hair and smiling up at his astonished look. "I know it doesn't seem like it though. I met him a while back at a club, and he was depressed, and we got to talking. There's more to him then you'd think there is. When we're alone, we both act very differently then when we're around other people. I guess we both think acting like, well, you know...will make it easier for us to break up at the end of the summer when he has to go back to school. It would seem less real. Less pressure…". Blair said this all rather quickly, but she couldn't disguise the sadness behind her words.

"I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to imagine anybody really liking Dudley", Harry said, dumbfounded. "But, what about those guys I've seen you all over?" He asked.

"Those TWO guys were vampires that I was fighting. I only kissed one of them, and that was because I saw you coming and, you know, secret identity and all. He was pretty shocked too; made him much easier to stake. Anyways, nobody here knows that I'm serious about Dudley, they think I'm just using him too. I'd rather it stay that way, you know? So could you not tell anyone?" She pleaded.

"Of course, I promise I won't tell anyone. I've got to get home before Petunia freaks out. See you around," Harry said, a lot warmer to the girl he had once hated. He left the headquarters with his mind reeling. He planned on going up to his room and wrapping his head around all he had learned that day. There were girls, his age, whose destinies were to fight evil with their special strength. And Dudley's girlfriend was one of them. He walked quickly, eyes on the ground, lost in thought. When he reached the perfect door of #4 Privet Drive, he sped up the stairs as always, but he found a big surprise when he walked into his room…

Harry barely realized whom the mass of bushy brown hair and wavy red hair belonged to as they obstructed his vision as blurs. Hermione and Ginny both threw themselves on top of Harry while Ron pulled him into a manlier embrace. Tonks and Lupin gave him half hugs, and Mad-Eye Moody shook his hand firmly. After asking Harry tons of ridiculous questions to ensure Harry's identity, the group all sat down either on Harry's bed, the floor, or a chair. Before Harry could even finish asking why they were all there, Moody put a silencing charm on the room.

"Constant vigilance!!" Mad-Eye Moody exclaimed in response to their amused faces. "You can never be too careful! Now then, we are here to make sure that this woman you met is not evil! Just because she is American does not mean anything! Do you think there have been no evil Americans before? Look at their muggle president! Now, what did she tell you today?" Moody said vehemently.

"Well, she is a vampire slayer. She is in charge of something called a watchers council." Harry noticed that the adults in the room and Hermione all looked shocked.

"Wait, don't you mean _the _vampire slayer?" asked Hermione.

"No Hermione, recently the most powerful vampire slayer in history and her friends changed the rules. Now every girl with the potential to be a slayer will be a slayer." Tonks replied.

"Wait, so any girl in Hogwarts could be a slayer?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Stop! For those of us who aren't geniuses, what IS a vampire slayer?" Ron asked as Ginny nodded. Lupin told them as much as he knew, with assistance from Moody and Tonks.

"And Hermione, you of all people should know that Hogwarts is protected from outside magic! I've heard that Wiccan magic is much weaker than wizarding magic anyways. It's very unlikely that even if there were potential slayers attending Hogwarts, that the magic would have affected them." Lupin said, pondering the idea.

"Wow, Hermione, you're losing your touch! Maybe you should read Hogwarts a History for the thousandth time." Ron said, to which everyone laughed and she blushed.

At Hermione's downtrodden look, Tonks added, "Would you really wish the fate of vampire slayer on anyone at Hogwarts anyways? The lifespan of a vampire slayer is very short." Everyone pondered this for a few moments. Searching for another topic to break the silence, Harry asked what had happened with Mrs. Weasley back at Grimmauld Place.

"She was just overwhelmed is all, she didn't mean it, I'm sure she'll apologize." Ginny answered quickly, while Hermione's face became stony. Ron squeezed her shoulder comfortingly.

"Anyways, we must leave now to meet the American!" Moody said, glancing at his pocket watch. Everyone stood up and Harry led them all downstairs, very grateful for Moody's inadvertent distraction. He didn't even bother to mention that it's a bit rude to bring a large group of oddly dressed strangers somewhere uninvited, or that they were busy. He figured Moody wouldn't care. And so, Harry led the group to the slayer headquarters.

Harry realized as the group exited Privet Drive that this was the first time his friends would see the town where he had lived since he was dropped on #4's doorstep at the age of one. They asked him funny questions about everything, particularly Ron who knew the least about muggles. For the first time, Harry was building pleasant memories in the place he had hated growing up. Before they knew it they reached the slayer headquarters. Harry knocked on the door and waited with the group until Dawn opened the door.

"Hiya Harry! Back so soon? And who are all these people?" Dawn asked anxiously. Harry explained that they were there to see Buffy. She led them inside to Buffy's office, where she and the scoobies, Willow, Xander, and Giles, were chatting, and introductions were made. Buffy kept glancing warily at Moody's revolting eye throughout the entire conversation. They mainly discussed their types of magic, how Willow didn't use wands but used Wiccan magic, and the new watchers council. The brits were all surprised that a wandless witch could be so powerful. The conversation was much more professional then it had been with just Harry and the Summers women, partly because Giles was there. His British influence helped reassure Harry's entourage that the scoobies weren't as insane as they seemed.

Upon noticing that the teens were getting restless, Buffy told Dawn to give them a tour of the headquarters. Dawn got up and led the others out of the office.

"Where to?" She asked them, as Ron muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "It's my wildest dream come true…," staring at the many fit young women lounging around him. Dawn and Ginny couldn't help but giggle, and even Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend's gaping mouth. Hermione was less amused.

"I would love to see a tour of the whole place! Which room is the most interesting? Can we start there?" she interjected.

Dawn knew just the place that would interest the teens the most: the formal sparring room. They would be able to see the best slayers fighting each other or fledgling vampires kept there for training purposes. After leading them upstairs, Dawn pushed open the door to the room and screamed excitedly while running towards a curvaceous woman with curly brown hair, leaving the others behind. Faith, who had been sparring with Kennedy, stopped immediately and gave Dawn a hug. Dawn forgot all about the four people she had been with and started catching up with the woman she had once hated as if they were now best friends. Meanwhile the teens all stood in the doorway confused; Harry and Ron ogling at Faith while Hermione and Ginny glared at them. When Hermione got fed up with them and stomped on Ron's foot, Dawn finally turned around at Ron's "OW!" and led Faith over to them. While Faith wasn't looking, Kennedy snuck up behind her and signaled for the teens to be quiet. She tried to catch Faith off her guard and continue their fight, but Faith was too fast for her. Kennedy's sneak attack ended with Kennedy on the floor with a broken wrist and Faith sitting on top of her holding down Kennedy's other arm and her feet. The teens were all impressed.

Harry put his hand on Dawn's shoulder and looked her in the eye in mock seriousness. "If I get killed by one of these mad women you keep introducing me to, it will be the end of our friendship."

Dawn laughed and patted him on the head. "Don't worry, you'll get used to being around women who are better than you." She replied with a cocky grin.

Harry raised an eyebrow, trying to work out whether or not he should be offended. Their eye contact was broken by another loud punch coming from the middle of the room. Both teens spun around to see Kennedy punching Faith in the jaw with her good arm. Blushing slightly, Dawn avoided looking at Harry and said she'd go tell Buffy that Faith had arrived.

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PLEASE REVIEW!

I was extremely nervous about that chapter, but I think it worked out well. Hope it wasn't too fluffy, random, or confusing. I also hope you understood WHY people had certain expressions etc. I was trying to SHOW and not TELL, but because I had so much to say I'm not sure I did the characters justice. Did anybody seem too OOC? I'm having some trouble with Harry, he seems like a very generic british bloke (tee hee) to me, but maybe I'm criticizing myself to hard? What do you think of Blair? And is all the ogling annoying? I thought it would be funny cause, ya know, teenage boys--only thinking about one thing. Alright, I was discussing with some people today about how females always apologize for things, or make disclaimers and explanations for their work, when they really shouldn't. Like if you miss a catch playing sports you apologize, or warn someone that you were really tired when you wrote a letter and it probably doesn't make any sense, or whatever. I'm doing that now so I'm gonna stop. Please review! I hope you enjoyed!

Cookies for all! Please review, consider it an early birthday gift b/c this week is my b-day!!! YAY!


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